Brisbane Lions to extend coach Chris Fagan’s contract to 2026 regardless of finals results

For many, it’s been premiership or bust for Chris Fagan and the Lions this year. But Brisbane’s powerbrokers see it otherwise and are set to make a huge call on the coach’s future.

Brisbane will back long-time coach Chris Fagan to the hilt, with a one-year extension on his current deal certain to be in place before the start of next season, regardless of how the Lions’ rollercoaster 2024 season ends.

Fagan said last week that he would walk away from the Lions if he did not consider him the right man for the job.

But the Herald Sun understands the Lions’ hierarchy has seen enough across his entire tenure and has been impressed by his steady hand this season following a 0-3 start to guarantee an extra year. It would see the 63-year-old locked away until the end of the 2026 season.

Fagan has yet to put pen to paper, but the Herald Sun believes an extension will be done with the coach before the start of next season, and potentially as early as before Christmas.

The deal could see Fagan (187 games) overtake Brisbane triple premiership mentor Leigh Matthews (237) as the coach with the most games in the club’s history.

The Lions are yet to win that elusive premiership in Fagan’s eight seasons at the helm, despite coming close in last year’s thrilling grand final loss to Collingwood, which remained alive until the final siren.

The Brisbane Lions will extend Chris Fagan‘s contract regardless of the outcome in finals. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.

At times Fagan has been criticised for a lack of cutting edge acumen, but as he showed again this season, he has a close connection to the playing group and insiders credit him with helping to resurrect the club’s season when it was sliding away earlier this year.

The Lions take on the Giants on Saturday in an effort to keep their season alive, coming off the back of an elimination finals victory over Carlton last week.

A one-year extension, which pushes his current deal into 2026, is seen as a fair reward for the coach who has taken the Lions to six consecutive finals appearances – the best current streak of the current clubs.

The club is bullish about the premiership window remaining open for some time given they will secure father-son Levi Ashcroft in the first handful of picks and academy selection Sam Marshall in the first round.

Lachie Neale and Chris Fagan speak after their win over Collingwood late in the season. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.

The injection of youth in recent seasons has led to the likes of Darcy Wilmot, Kai Lohmann, Logan Morris and Jaspa Fletcher continue to take strides, despite five knee reconstruction victims which hurt the depth at stages.

All five players who suffered ACL injuries are expected to be ready by the start of next year.

Fagan said after the finals defeat of Carlton last Saturday that he was thrilled so many of those players had stood up on the big stage.

“I was a little bit worried about them, to be honest, because the first final can be a little bit overwhelming but we had a couple of really good guest speakers,” Fagan said.

“I interviewed ‘Hodgey’ (Luke Hodge) and Trent Cotchin who is doing some leadership stuff with us and they talked about what they thought was important in finals. There were good messages for everyone in the room but particularly our younger players and I thought they all contributed well.

“Wilmot was terrific, Lohmann was great, Logan Morris, Ashy, Fletchy did his two bobs worth. It has been one of the great things about our season. The crisis with knee injuries has created some opportunities for young players and they stood up tonight.”